Mansur Yavaş facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mansur Yavaş
Mansur Yavaş in February 2025
29th Mayor of Ankara
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 April 2019
Preceded by	Mustafa Tuna
Mayor of Beypazarı
In office 18 April 1999 – 29 March 2009
Preceded by	İbrahim Demirr
Succeeded by	Mehmet Cengiz Özalp
Member of the Beypazarı Municipal Council
In office 26 March 1989 – 27 March 1994
Preceded by	Multi-member district
Succeeded by	Multi-member district
Personal details
Born	(1955-05-23) 23 May 1955 (age 70) Beypazarı, Turkey
Political party	Republican People's Party (2013–2016, 2018–present)
Other political affiliations	Nationalist Task Party (1989–1992) Nationalist Movement Party (1992–2013)
Spouse	Nursen Yavaş ​ (m. 1986)​
Children	2
Alma mater	Istanbul University
Signature

Mansur Yavaş (born on May 23, 1955) is a Turkish lawyer and politician. He is currently the Mayor of Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. He has held this important job since April 2019.

He was chosen as mayor in the 2019 Ankara mayoral election. He ran as the candidate for the Nation Alliance. This was a group of political parties working together. The main parties in this alliance were the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Good Party.

Before becoming Ankara's mayor, Yavaş was a lawyer. He first got involved in politics as a nationalist. He served as the Mayor of Beypazarı, a district in Ankara, from 1999 to 2009. He was part of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) then.

In 2013, he left the MHP and joined the CHP. He ran for Ankara mayor in 2014 but official results showed he lost by a small amount. There were some disagreements about the election results. He ran again in 2019 with support from the Good Party. He won with 50.9% of the votes.

People praised Mayor Yavaş for how he handled the COVID-19 pandemic in Ankara. He made sure city workers still got paid. He also ensured that street animals were fed when restaurants closed. He is also known for saving the city money. He did this by stopping wasteful spending.

Polls in 2020 showed that Mansur Yavaş was very popular. He had a high approval rating among Turkish politicians. He even won the 2021 World Mayor Capital Award. He was re-elected as mayor in the 2024 Ankara mayoral election by a large number of votes. Because he is so popular, some people think he might run for president in the 2028 Turkish presidential election.

Early Life and School

Mansur Yavaş was born in Beypazarı, a town in the Ankara Province of Turkey. His father used to be a carpenter. He also sold newspapers, and young Mansur helped him deliver papers. He finished his early schooling in Beypazarı.

In 1979, he started studying law at Istanbul University. He graduated in 1983. After serving in the military as a prosecutor, he went back to Beypazarı. There, he started working as a private lawyer.

Start of His Political Journey

Yavaş began his political career in 1989. He was elected as a member of the municipal council in Beypazarı. This council helps run the local town. He tried to become the mayor of Beypazarı in 1994 but did not win.

He continued his law work and council duties. Then, on April 18, 1999, he ran for mayor again. This time, he won with 51% of the votes.

Ankara Mayoral Election in 2014

Mansur Yavaş was the candidate for mayor of Ankara for the Republican People's Party. This election happened on March 30, 2014. On election night, he held a press conference. He said he had won and asked his supporters to watch the vote counting.

Later, he said that a government news agency was slow to report votes from areas where he had strong support. He believed this was done to discourage his volunteers. Yavaş stated that his team reported many problems with the election. He asked his supporters to stay calm.

Ankara Mayoral Election in 2019

Mansur Yavaş taking over as Mayor of Ankara from outgoing mayor Mustafa Tuna during an official handover ceremony on 8 April 2019

Mansur Yavaş had left the CHP for a short time. But he decided to rejoin the party. He wanted to run for Mayor of Ankara again. He became the CHP's candidate. He also had support from the Good Party. This made him the joint candidate for the Nation Alliance.

During his campaign, some people made claims against him. They said he had done wrong things in the past. Yavaş said these claims were false and politically motivated.

On March 31, 2019, the election took place. Yavaş became the first CHP Mayor of Ankara in 25 years. He won with 50.9% of the votes. He officially started his job on April 8, 2019.

As Mayor of Ankara

When Mansur Yavaş became mayor, he immediately stopped hiring new city staff. He wanted to investigate possible corruption from previous leaders. He also changed some high-ranking city officials. He was also praised for cleaning the statue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Ankara. The statue had been neglected for years.

In April 2019, the city council tried to take some powers away from the mayor. Yavaş said this was against the rules and stopped it. He also criticized past leaders for giving city contracts to companies that lost money. He believed this was due to political favoritism.

Because of his work, he became well-known across Turkey. Polls in late 2020 showed that he was very popular. Some even suggested he could win if he ran against President Erdoğan in a future election.

Yavaş is known for his quick and effective "100-day plan." He stopped the practice of hiring family or friends for city jobs. He believed Ankara was in debt because of politicians chosen for their connections, not their skills. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he started a charity project to give bread to poor people.

He also made public transportation free in Ankara on national and religious holidays. He famously replaced expensive luxury cars used by the mayor's office. Instead, he offered these cars for free to couples getting married in Ankara for a day.

For transportation, Yavaş has worked to build and maintain bicycle paths and walking areas. He wants to encourage people to use less fossil fuel. He has also invested in a large trade fair in Ankara. He hopes it will become one of the world's biggest trade fairs. New houses in the capital now need to have solar energy and rainwater storage. Students also get a 50% discount on water bills.

In late 2020, Yavaş announced plans to provide free internet. This internet would be available in 928 villages in Ankara province within 45 days.

In 2025, Yavaş attended a ceremony to honor Talaat Pasha. This was to remember him, though Talaat Pasha is known for his role in the Armenian genocide.

2023 Presidential Elections

According to polls, Mansur Yavaş was a strong candidate to run against Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the 2023 Turkish presidential election. Some polls showed him with a significant lead. On March 6, 2023, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of the Republican People's Party, announced his own candidacy. Mansur Yavaş, along with Ekrem İmamoğlu and other party leaders, were named as vice-president candidates.

Personal Life

Mansur Yavaş married Nursen Yavaş in 1986. They have two daughters. Their names are Armağan and Çağlayan.

Election Results

Local Elections

Election	Party	Votes	%	Outcome	Map
March 1994 Beypazarı	Nationalist Movement Party	4,351	31.17%	2nd	N/A
April 1999 Beypazarı	Nationalist Movement Party	8,437	51.12%	1st	N/A
March 2004 Beypazarı	Nationalist Movement Party	10,320	54.8%	1st	N/A
March 2009 Ankara	Nationalist Movement Party	667,305	27.3%	3rd	N/A
March 2014 Ankara	Republican People's Party	1,416,770	43.82%	2nd	N/A
March 2019 Ankara	Republican People's Party	1,662,209	50.93%	1st
March 2024 Ankara	Republican People's Party	1,997,429	60.38%	1st

Images for kids

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  Mansur Yavaş taking over as Mayor of Ankara from outgoing mayor Mustafa Tuna during an official handover ceremony on 8 April 2019

See also

In Spanish: Mansur Yavaş para niños